You are here

SAU’s second half beats UAM

Commercial Press Services

MONTICELLO – The Southern Arkansas Muleriders scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Arkansas-Monticello football team 30-14 on Saturday in the inaugural Battle of the Timberlands.

After SAU posted the only touchdown of the first quarter on a 10-yard pass from Tyler Sykora to Brooks White at the 7:18 mark, UAM answered a 4-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Damon Wicker at the 13:18 mark of the second quarter to cap an 11-play, 79-yard drive.

UAM (1-4, 0-3 Great American Conference) took a 14-7 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first half when Wicker found senior Blake Prince on a wheel-route for a 59-yard touchdown pass.

The Muleriders (4-0, 3-0 GAC) scored the final points of the first half with a 23-yard field goal by Jacob Carpenter with two seconds remaining before halftime. That field goal gave UAM a 14-10 after two quarters of play.

SAU began its 20-point second half with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Sykora to White at the 13:17 mark of the third quarter to cap a six-play, 63-yard drive.

SAU’s Mark Johnson controlled the final 15 minutes with a 4-yard touchdown run at the 6:18 mark and a 6-yard scoring run at the 3:58 mark. Johnson finished the game with 29 carries for 203 yards, an average of seven yards per carry.

Wicker finished the contest 22-of-47 through the air for a career-high 358 yards with one touchdown. The Baton Rouge, La., added to his 452 yards of total offense with a team-high 94 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Wicker’s favorite target was senior Malik Matthews, who went over the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive game with seven catches for 112 yards. Senior running back Blake Prince also eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving with five catches for 100 yards.

The Boll Weevils return to the road next Saturday with a trip to Arkadelphia to face nationally-ranked No. 17 Henderson State. HSU (5-0, 3-0 GAC) defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State 50-22 on Saturday to remain undefeated. Next Saturday’s kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium on the HSU campus.